Tough Love
by ForensAnthro
Summary: Who would know more about living on the edge than Voyager's favorite wild child Tom Paris?


_December 2012_

_Author's Note: Humafic. Tom Paris and Kes, you're just gonna have to deal;) Haha don't worry, Miral Paris is far too cute for me to completley abandon P/T:) _

It was more a matter of retribution than wickedness, Captain Janeway would later say of her decision to settle Tom Paris' betting ring with a game of pool.

Tom Paris paced around his side of the table. The air in Sandrine's was smoky and sultry, anticipation from the watching practically visible, and his opponent's striking blue eyes practically glowed in the semi-darkness. His gaze met hers one last time before he stretched over the scruffy green velvet and lined up the shot for a gleaming crimson ball. _Red for Command red, _he thought to himself before coiling his arm back and striking like a snake. The ball spun wildly out of control and bounced harmlessly off the side of the table before coming to rest in the exact middle, completely useless. A collective moan from his fellow conspirators went up.

"Shame," Harry said dryly, clapping Tom on the back. He made eye contact with his captain.

"Mr. Tuvok, remind me again what the terms of this game were," Captain Janeway drawled. Both she and her first officer were wearing satisfied grins.

_Voyager_'s head of security had observed the match stoically as ever from one end of the table. "The conditions were that should you win, Captain, Mr. Paris would be obliged to shut down his betting operation regarding you and Commander Chakotay immediately. As you have won, this is the case." Tom grinned- Tuvok sounded more smug than usual, and even if he lost, he was always happy to prove that his Vulcan shipmate could indeed be very emotional.

"Alright, Captain, fair enough. The betting ring is off," Tom conceded, leaning forward to shake her slender hand.

She gripped his hand tightly and there was twinkle in her striking eyes. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Paris," Captain Janeway purred. She smoothly set her pool cue down and then disappeared with a grinning Chakotay into the night.

Just after the command team retreated, a lithe figure slipped through the open door quick as a shadow. She loped across the room and settled on a bar stool.

Tom immediately and unceremoniously shoved his pool cue into a protesting Harry's arms and went to join her.

"Hi, Kes," he smiled.

She glanced up. "Hello, Tom," she sighed. He frowned. There was something wrong- maybe it was her smile not so ready, her eyes not so bright.

"What's up?" he asked concernedly.

"Oh," she heaved another deep sigh. "You probably know I broke up with Neelix a little while ago. It's just- well, he saved my life. He gave me this _new_ life here on _Voyager_. I owe him everything, and I still broke up with him. I guess I just feel bad," she said in that gentle, soothing voice of hers, reflectively tracing patterns in the scratched wood of Sandrine's countertop.

Tom settled back on his barstool. He hadn't spoken to Kes much on account of Neelix's infamous jealousy, but he was still amazed by her compassion, friendliness, optimism- and the fact that she was extremely pretty didn't hurt either.

"That's tough," he managed at last. "Would buying you a drink help?" He retrieved a fraying wallet from his jacket pocket.

"They use actual currency here?" Kes asked, surprised. When she was enslaved by the Kazon visiting traders used coins, but she'd never encountered the archaic system anywhere else.

"It's part of the experience," Tom explained. "Like last week, Harry's wallet got stolen by a pickpocket. It's a good thing B'Elanna was there. It was a good thing the guy was holographic, too- I'm pretty sure she would've killed him otherwise."

Kes gave a bright, tinkling laugh. The smile lit up her features and her huge blue eyes were sparkling when they met his again.

"Besides," Tom said, eager to hear her laugh again. "If you never do anything a little bit bad, your brain will stay the size of a raisin." He nodded sagely.

Kes smiled and quirked an eyebrow. "Tom Paris, in all my years of medical training, I've never heard of acute "raisin-itis"."

"Hey, it's a proven fact!" Tom said. Kes had to chuckle at his indignant expression. "I bet your brain is completely shriveled," he continued.

"Is not!" Kes argued playfully. Tom smiled at her once more and slid some coins to a coy Sandrine, who had just appeared at the counter.

Half an hour and three drinks apiece later, the flirtatious tone had not disappeared from Kes' voice and Tom had not tired of her beautiful laugh. There was a lull in conversation while Kes finished her drink (surprisingly strong for such an elfin woman, but then again, Tom thought, this evening had been full of surprises) and slid the glass across the bar, the trail it left catching the yellow light of the bar lamps.

"What now?" she smiled at him.

He gestured for her to lower her voice, and they both leaned in very close to converse without being overhead by the other patrons.

"Tell you what. We're going to do something really bad," Tom whispered to her, a mischievous smile dancing on his features.

Like a little girl, Kes' eyes widened in anticipation. "What?" she demanded.

"Do you know the concept of dine-and-dash?" Tom asked, keeping his eyes on Sandrine. The busty Frenchwomen had come over to wipe the counter down and she flashed them a foxy grin before flouncing away again, leaving a sickly sweet cloud of perfume hovering in her wake.

Kes seemed to swell with excitement. "Yes," she stuttered. "You mean leaving a bar- without paying?"

"That's what we're going to do," Tom said, grinning even more broadly.

"Right now?!" Kes gasped. She knew it was just a joke, but then again, holographic or not, Sandrine was not a woman to be trifled with….

"Right now," Tom replied easily, straightening up and taking her hand beneath the counter. "Ready?"

"Tom, I don't know-

"One…"

"Shh, they'll hear us!"

"Two…."

"I can't believe this is happening, we'll be in so much trouble!"

"Three!"

Tom led Kes along by the hand as they tripped out the open door, Kes shrieking with delight "We're bad! We're bad! We are so, so BAD!"

She didn't even care how the other patrons stared or the fact that they interrupted the startled command team passionately kissing over coffee at the café next door. Kes didn't even notice the coins that Tom had slapped down on the counter before they left.

Because all she could focus on was the way Tom gently took both her hands in his large, warm ones when they reached the end of the street, the way he leaned in so slowly, piercing blue eyes filled with quiet awe, the way his soft lips tentatively brushed hers before she responded hungrily and claimed his in truth, smiling at his surprise that melted into passion.

Kes immediately made a resolution to be bad much more often.

_Any reviews are much appreciated:) _


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